Lucca's current defensive walls were designed by Leonardo Da Vinci and were never breached. Giacomo Puccini, one of italian worldwide known opera composers(La Bohème and Madama Butterfly), was born in Lucca.
HISTORY
Lucca was founded by the Etruscans and became a Roman colony in 180 BC. The rectangular grid of its historical centre preserves the Roman street plan, and the Piazza San Michele occupies the site of the ancient forum. Traces of the amphitheatre can still be seen in the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro.
At the Lucca Conference, in 56 BC, Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus reaffirmed their political alliance known as the First Triumvirate.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Lucca was plundered by Odoacer, the first Germanic King of Italy. Lucca was an important city and fortress even in the 6th century. Under the Lombards, it was the seat of a duke who minted his own coins.
The city became prosperous through the silk trade that began in the 11th century, and came to rival the silks of Byzantium. During the 10–11th centuries Lucca was the capital of the feudal margraviate of Tuscany, more or less independent but owing nominal allegiance to the Holy Roman Emperor.
After the death of Matilda of Tuscany, the city began to constitute itself an independent commune, with a charter in 1160. For almost 500 years, Lucca remained an independent republic.
In 1314, internal discord allowed Uguccione della Faggiuola of Pisa to make himself lord of Lucca. The Lucchesi expelled him two years later, and handed over the city to another condottiere Castruccio Castracani, under whose rule it became a leading state in central Italy. Lucca rivalled Florence until Castracani's death in 1328. On 22 and 23 September 1325, in the battle of Altopascio, Castracani defeated Florence's Guelphs. For this he was nominated by Louis IV the Bavarian to become duke of Lucca.
In 1408, Lucca hosted the convocation intended to end the schism in the papacy. Occupied by the troops of Louis of Bavaria, the city was sold to a rich Genoese, Gherardino Spinola, then seized by John, king of Bohemia. Pawned to the Rossi of Parma, by them it was ceded to Martino della Scala of Verona, sold to the Florentines, surrendered to the Pisans, and then nominally liberated by the emperor Charles IV and governed by his vicar. Lucca managed, at first as a democracy, and after 1628 as an oligarchy, to maintain its independence alongside of Venice and Genoa.
In 1805, Lucca was conquered by Napoleon, who installed his sister Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi as "Queen of Etruria".
After 1815 it became a Bourbon-Parma duchy. The only duke of Lucca was Charles II, Duke of Parma, though between 1815 and 1824 his mother, Maria Luisa of Spain, was a regent. After his death, in 1847, Lucca lost independence and became part of Tuscany and finally part of the Italian State.
SEE
•The walls around the old town remained intact as the city expanded and modernized, unusual for cities in the region. As the walls lost their military importance, they became a pedestrian promenade which encircled the old town, although they were used for a number of years in the 20th century for racing cars. They are still fully intact today; each of the four principal sides is lined with a different tree species. The entire perimeter is approximately 4 km.
•The Duomo di San Martino (St Martin's Cathedral), a Romanesque cathedral dating to 14th century, contains the must-see Volto Santo.
•The Ducal Palace, built on the location of Castruccio Castracani's fortress, was begun by Bartolomeo Ammannati in 1577–1582, and continued by Filippo Juvarra in the 18th century.
•Piazza Anfiteatro stands where the ancient Roman amphitheatre was situated. The remains of the amphitheater are gone, the houses there are of medieval origin, built where the spectator stands were.
•Torre delle Ore ("The Clock Tower") is and ancient clock tower with original clock still working
•Torre Guinigi (Guinigi Tower), with oak trees on top, offers a very dramatic sight, with good views of the city.
(Source: Wikipedia et al.)